Kanye West has never been shy about his God complex, but humility, not hubris, drives hip-hop’s greatest gospel testimonial. The production is stirring – a church choir cresting above a martial beat – and West has a message to match, forsaking easy pieties to rap about internal struggle “We at war with ourselves” and self-doubt “I want to talk to God, but I’m afraid because we ain’t spoke in so long”.

Part of what made the Wu-Tang Clan so great was their messy, multitudinous sprawl. “When we started recording Enter the Wu-Tang, the whole group was usually there for every session; sometimes it felt like their whole neighborhood was in the studio,” recalled Ethan Ryman, an engineer on the group’s landmark 1993 debut. Yet the finest song on the album is ruthlessly efficient.

In 1984, Brooklyn trio U.T.F.O. released a lackluster single called “Hanging Out.” However, caused a sensation: “Roxanne, Roxanne,” an irresistible jam where the peacocking guys in U.T.F.O. get repeatedly shot down by a “stuck-up” hottie.